Turning the page is an intrinsic component of reading that is most often taken for granted until the time that the activity becomes difficult to perform owing to illness or disability. Further, in playing music, the activity needs special consideration owing to the fact that both hands of the musician are occupied and to read the music from sheets, pages have to be turned one by one without creating a break in the music and without the aid of another person. In both scenarios, the need exists for a device or a mechanism that will keep the book or collection of pages flat, engage one page at a time, and turn each page silently and smoothly at the right time.
As examples of known art, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,071 wherein there is disclosed an adjustable page turning apparatus. This page turning apparatus comprises a transparent housing having a hinged top which can include a magnifying glass of some type. Operably arranged within the housing and supported by a plurality of pulleys is a monofilament cable having each end thereof connected to a slip-clutch assembly. The slip-clutch assembly includes a slip-clutch disc and a disc-wheel, wherein the cable ends are attached to the slip-clutch disc which causes the cable to move when rotated.
Again in U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,644, a page turning apparatus is provided in which the pages of a book can be turned by remote control. The page turning apparatus comprising a mounting board or frame for supporting a book and having a reversible electric motor mounted thereon. The motor having an output shaft extending there from over and generally parallel to the mounting board or frame and being pivotally mounted for swinging of the output shaft through limited angles across and perpendicular to the mounting board or frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 279,737 discloses a leaf turning apparatus. The leaf turning apparatus consists of wire frames or fliers pivoted on the board of the musical instrument, usually employed for holding the music, or on a specifically provided board or frame, and contrived for application of sheet or book music, with pawls arranged for turning the sheet both ways by means of pull wires or cords to be worked by a foot-treadle or other device, and a spring for retracting them, and also for causing them to hold the wire frames down when turned.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos.4,553,467, 4,432,154 and 4,870,258 also discloses the page turning apparatus.
All of these stated devices and some other devices presently known in the art have had some flaws in design or mechanism. Most of the existing devices are too expensive to be practical for most users. Some shortfalls of the existing devices include unreliable and noisy mechanisms, unwieldy preprocessing that needs clips or tabs to be attached to each page, and bulky devices with large components that reduce ease of portability.
In light of this, there is a need for a page turning device that overcomes these constraints and makes page turning an effortless, mechanical function that serves the needs of the handicapped as well as the musician or any other person wishing to automate the page-turning process.